Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012 — Just returned to the shack from the library, doing a little SWL’ing on my BC-348 WWII aircraft receiver.
I bought this receiver on a lark a couple of years ago, and I’ll have to say, its one of the most enjoyable boat anchors I own for casual listening. Part of that enjoyment is knowing the receiver is a WWII-era receiver that is 70-plus years old — and still playing reasonably well!
For those brought up on digital phase phase lock loop frequency stability and digital signal processing, you’re probably wondering to yourself, “Self, what in hell would anyone find attractive about this 25-pound scrapyard reject?” Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
The BC-348Q (my variant built by Wells-Gardner Corp.) works well on AM and CW (for which it was designed) and tolerably well on SSB (for which it was never designed). I have about 50 feet of electric fence wire strung between the eave of the house and the barn, and 
it works fairly well. I have an old MFJ antenna tuner (“old” in this case means the old woodgrain-on-metal and plastic cases) that helps peak the antenna for the rig.
I’m using a rag-tag pair of headphones with the BC-348 that are my favorites — a modified David Clark H3331 headset. The headseat had the mic boom chopped off and the holes filled, leaving just them just a seat of high quality headphones. To David Clark fans, they were ruined — but to me, they were perfect, and a bargain! I got them for a song, and I find them the best pair of headphones I own. I usually use them with the BC-348 simply because of the fact when you put them on it seals out room noise … I can listen while the family talks, laughs, watches TV, etc. It’s like transporting into the first RF stage of the receiver and attenuating the rest of the world … an RF getaway of sorts!
NO BALONEY MICROPHONY. I did some casual operating last night and met up with a group of guys on 75 meters that I’ve known forever, including my elmer, his elmer, and my best friend from high school. These guys know my real voice, and I wasn’t sure what they might think of the mic I’m using with my FT-2000.
It’s a cheap knock-off of a Shure 55S that came on the market about the time Shure discontinued production of its latest version of the 55S. The Shure mic has a small round logo placed in the center of the face of the mic (centered top-to-bottom as well as side-to-side). The knock-off I have shifts the round spot on the grill down a couple of horizontal bars so it isn’t centered top-to-bottom. But the knock-off has a great-looking chrome plating job, and its a very close copy of the 55S. All-in-all, a much nicer “retro” look than Heil’s “Elvis” microphone.
The knock-off I have is equipped with a dynamic cartridge of average quality (benefit of the doubt, ok?); when I listened to the mic through my headphones, it sounded lifeless, dull and flat. Thankfully, the FT-2000 has an excellent range of equalization available to dial-in a microphone — to the point I get unsolicited compliments on my audio. Not bad for a cheap-ass microphone!
How closely does the knock-off match the original Shure 55S? The “face” of the microphone is nearly identical (save for the logo placement). The back of the knock off is square-ish, which looks fine; however the original mic tapered the back side – the rear half of the case forms a arch, not a boxy affair like the knock off. Still, one would not know it unless you had the mics side-by-side. And more importantly, the knock-off sounds better than any of the vintage Shure 55S mics I’ve been able to acquire on eBay. The only thing I have not tried is a NOS Shure 55S or the latest version, the Shure 55SH Series II.
I heard that one of the knock-off companies ran into legal challenges from Shure, though I don’t know if that was the truth of a “get them now before they’re confiscated” marketing promotion by some shady audio equipment seller.
Shure’s decision to discontinue the 55S did not last long; a quick check of the Shure website reveals three different versions of this iconic microphone, including a striking black case 55S with red foam in the grill. Shure has a whole line of classic reproductions, as it should. Don’t know what a “new” 55S might cost, but it won’t be as cheap as my knock off.